The present disclosure relates generally to so-called compressed URLs or short URLs and, more particularly to systems and methods for embedding message or tracking information within Internet links (Uniform Resource Locators, or URLs) and, in a more limited aspect, to systems and methods that allow encoding and optimization of short URLs that contain one or more tracking identifiers.
The Internet, which started in the late 1960s, is a vast computer network consisting of many smaller networks that spans the entire globe. The Internet has grown exponentially, and millions of worldwide users ranging from individuals to corporations now use permanent and dial-up connections to access the Internet on a daily basis. The computers or networks of computers connected within the Internet, known as “hosts,” allow access to databases containing information in nearly every field of expertise and are supported by entities ranging from universities and government to many commercial organizations.
The information on the Internet is made available to the public through “servers.” A server is a computer system running on an Internet host for making available files, documents, or other information contained within that host. An Internet server may distribute information to any computer that requests the files on a host. The computer making such a request is known as the “client,” which may be an Internet-connected workstation, home personal computer (PC), a software application running on another server, or other types of Internet-connected devices including mobile phones and the like.
The World-Wide Web (Web) is a method of accessing information on the Internet which allows a user to navigate the Internet resources intuitively, without Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or other technical knowledge. The Web is made up of hundreds of thousands of interconnected “pages,” or documents, which can be displayed on a computer monitor. The Web pages are provided by hosts running special software called Web servers. Software which runs these Web servers is relatively simple and is available on a wide range of computer platforms including PC's. Equally available is a form of client software, known as a Web “browser,” which is used to display Web pages as well as traditional non-Web files on the client system, such as video files or audio files.
Hidden behind certain text, pictures or sounds are connections, known as “hyperlinks” or “hypertext links” (referred to herein generally as “links” and, unless specifically stated otherwise, without regard to fine distinctions or nuances in meaning), which point to other pages within the same server or even on other computers within the Internet. For example, links may be visually displayed as words or phrases that may be underlined or displayed in a second color. Each link is directed to a web page by using a special name called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). URLs enable a Web browser to go directly to any file or resource held on any Web server. A user may also specify a known URL by putting it directly into the navigational area of a web browser.
Any document or resource designed to be accessed and over the Web and displayed in a web browser is referred to herein as a web page. Each web page must have an address in a recognized format, i.e., the URL or Uniform Resource Locator, that enables computers all over the world to access it. Each web page has a unique URL. Increasingly, URLs are also being used by other software applications to access data hosted on a particular server. The data returned from these URLs is intended to be accessed and read by other computer programs rather than by web browsers. Resources exposed by a server for the benefit of other software applications are called “Web services” and are increasingly used to make Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) available to other software applications on the Internet.
The Uniform Resource Locator is a standard way to specify the location of a resource available electronically. A URL specifies all the information necessary to access a given web page or resource. URLs have a very specific syntax and follow a defined format, such as that specified in RFC 1738.